Tag Archives: legal

Fri 28th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Singulars, plurals, and new tip turn domain confusion - We’re going to have confusion, but that may be OK. ICANN’s new gTLD committee has decided that it will not place singular and plural versions of new top level domain strings into contention sets, shutting down what was effectively an “appeal” by the Governmental Advisory Committee. Here are my thoughts. Yes, plurals and singulars will confuse internet users and domain registrants alike. There’s going to be some confusion. Anyone who says otherwise is blowing ... read more ...
Tue 25th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
What a provocative WHOIS news means for domain investors - Sweeping changes to registrant data could have major impact on domain name investors. ICANN’s working group on gTLD Directory Services released its initial report overnight. If I were to use one word to describe the report, it would be “provocative”. I just finished reading the 49 page report that describes a way to upend WHOIS as we know it and replace it with an Aggregated Registration Data Service (ARDS). Calling it something completely different than the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Web developer systematic to give domain name behind to client - Web developer trying to hold domain name as lien against unpaid bills. It’s something we see time and time again…a business lets a web developer register their domain name, and then refuses to give it back. In the case of a UDRP between Alaska Health Fair, Inc. and Chris Jacobson, there was an added twist: Alaska Health Fair transferred its existing domain name alaskahealthfair.org to Jacobson, apparently thinking this was required for him to perform services. According ... read more ...
Mon 24th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
WIPO row (grudgingly) denies UDRP for YahClick.com and YahLive.com - Both complainant and respondent have registered trademarks, so panelist determines UDRP not appropriate mechanism to decide case. WIPO panelist Torsten Bettinger has denied (pdf) a complaint filed against the domain names YahClick.com/.net and YahLive.com/.net. In doing so, Bettinger appreciated the limits of UDRP cases while noting that the respondent’s story was “highly improbable”. The case was field by Al Yah Satellite Communications Company and affiliated ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Another domain scam, and this one is sent around fax - Official looking notice warns you about UDRP and urges you to register a .us domain name. There are a number of scams that try to trick unsuspecting domain name owners into paying hefty prices to renew their domains or register new domains. Here’s one that just came across my desk from a reader this week. It’s sent directly to the fax number on whois records, so if you don’t include a fax in whois, you may not have seen this before (although it appears to have ... read more ...
Fri 21st June 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
PokerStars Settes With Kentucky Over Domain Seizure Case By Paying $6 Million - PokerStars  has agreed to pay just over $6 million to settle the claims of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the domain name seizure case. In September 2008 the Governor ordered the seizure of 141 domain names. The order went to the domain registrars instead of the Registry in which some registrars like Godaddy and Enom complied and others did not. An Appellate court overturned the Seizure order, h0wever in 2010 the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned the Appellate Court ruling declaring the domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
People who paid a lot for one minute .uk domains could remove out underneath new plan - If priority is given to first registration, many .me.uk registrants will be big winners. Registrants paid big bucks for one and two character .co.uk and .org.uk domain names when .uk registry Nominet auctioned them off a couple years ago. Bidders paid £3m in total. Under the proposed plan for allocating second level .uk domain names, they could get screwed. Nominet’s latest plan to release domains such as example.co.uk instead of example.uk would give a first right ... read more ...
Thu 20th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN explains because it didn’t tell Verisign’s letters - Group it doesn’t usually publish counsel-to-counsel letters. Verisign sent several letters to ICANN earlier this year highlighting concerns about the new registry agreement. ICANN never posted those letters, and they only came to light when Verisign posted a message in a comment period. Verisign said there was lack of transparency in ICANN’s correspondence posting policies, and that “we are left to conclude that ICANN posts only those letters it believes will ... read more ...
Wed 19th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Man turns to courts to overturn terrible UDRP decision - The Alexander family asks court to overturn decision to transfer JustinAlexander.com. In 1999 Gary Alexander did something that was rather forward looking for the time: he registered his family members’ names as .com addresses. He registered his own name, GaryAlexander.com, domains for his sons, JustinAlexander.com and JaredAlexander.com, as well as one for his wife, DianeAlexander.com. Two years later a wedding dress designer called Justin Alexander started up. 14 ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP panelist uses common clarity for acronym domain names - Unfortunately her peers didn’t. It’s quite common for UDRPs to be filed against short domain names that can be acronyms for various businesses and organizations. These UDRP frequently target three and four letter domain names, which are often times valuable domains. A WIPO panel has just handed down a decision in the case of adac.net, finding that the domain should be transferred to the German company ADAC e.V.. The first thing you’ll notice is that ADAC e.V. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
RDNH alert: Duplicitous exchange doom Digilove domain dispute - Electronic dance website guilty of reverse domain name hijacking after engaging in “duplicitous dealings”. I have to admit, I don’t expect much business or legal sense from a company that uses the domain name digi10ve.com for a site it calls “Digilove”… Ryan P. Boggs of the site Digi10ve.com filed a seven-sentence UDRP pleading with WIPO to try to wrestle the domain name Digilove.com away from Frank Schilling. The case was filed with the help of attorney ... read more ...
Tue 18th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Nominet reconsiders second turn .uk domains (and it might be good for domainers) - New plan gives rights to existing domain registrants and offers lower pricing. Nominet, the registry behind the .uk namespace for the United Kingdom, has put forth a new plan to offer second level domains to the public. Currently, registrations are only available at the third level. The group’s previous proposal to offer domains such as example.uk instead of example.co.uk was shelved in February after a number of stakeholders lodged complaints about the program. ... read more ...
Mon 17th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
True Value exhibits bad values in domain name dispute - Hardware cooperative makes shaky claims in UDRP against webhosting company. I think the best way to start this UDRP analysis is with a couple screenshots. First, here’s a shot of hardware cooperative True Value’s web site: Now, here’s a screenshot for TrueValueWeb.com, which offers webhosting and internet technology services: True Value filed a UDRP against TrueValueWeb.com and made some head-scratching assertions. First, it claims that TrueValueWeb.com might ... read more ...
Thu 13th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Microsoft registers domains to frustrate botnets - Microsoft registers domains previously used by Citadel malware. Microsoft has registered a number of domain names to thwart a cybercrime ring credited with over a half billion dollars in financial fraud. The action aims to thwart Citadel malware, which installs keyloggers on users’ machines. The malware and crime ring had over 1,000 botnets. Although Microsoft’s press release about its actions against Citadel doesn’t mention domains, an attachment to the lawsuit ... read more ...
Wed 12th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Yu have one engaging UDRP… - The case for Yu.com was much more complicated than it should have been. All the facts of the UDRP for Yu.com point to an slam dunk, open-and-shut victory for the respondent. Yet getting to that determination – a win for the respondent – was apparently anything but simple. Michael has opined a bit on the case, and I’m going to share my analysis. First, let’s discuss how this was a dead-on-arrival case. The complainant, Two Way NV/SA, stated that it had plans ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Company systematic to compensate $5,000 after retreat domain name hijacking charge - Panel believe complainant was trying to use arbitration as a “short cut” to acquire domain. Domain name attorney Zak Muscovitch has helped the owner of ClevelandCyclewerks.ca save his domain name in a cybersquatting arbitration case. Not only that, but the arbitration panel found the complainant guilty of reverse domain name hijacking and ordered it to pay $5,000. .ca disputes are subject to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority Domain Name Dispute Resolution ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Wanna lawsuit? WannaDo battles WannaDo in court, claims cybersquatting - App creator sues event ticketing site over Wannado name and domain name. Two businesses offer relatively similar services at a about the same time and use the same name: WannaDo. One secures the best domain name for the service. Wanna bet that results in a lawsuit? Yep. Wannado, Inc. has sued The Active Network, Inc over its use of the Wannado name and Wannado.com. The plaintiff is a Tennessee corporation that offers an app on the iTunes store. The Wannado app provides ... read more ...
Tue 11th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Registrar might remove accreditation for unwell to yield send authorisation code - PacNames didn’t provide AuthInfo code within 5 days, according to breach notice. ICANN is threatening to cancel accreditation of New Zealand domain name registrar PacNames Ltd for the registrar’s failure to provide a domain transfer out code. In a breach notice dated June 10 (pdf), ICANN says PacNames has repeatedly failed to provide copies of written communications between the registrar and the registrant of AnimeInfo.net. It appears that the domain registrant ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
86 polite liberties organisation and internet companies launch StopWatching.US in arise of NSA revelations - Group chooses .us domain name to launch campaign against government surveillance. 86 civil liberties organizations and internet companies today launched a campaign to demand congress to act in light of recent National Security Administration spying program revelations. The coalition decided to launch its campaign on the web on a .us domain, StopWatching.us. Although .us can have catchy uses like .me domain names, I don’t see them often used this way. StopWatching.us ... read more ...
Mon 10th June 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Feds Seize 10 More Domain Names - Homeland Security seized 10 domain names today, however did not make any announcement yet about if it was part of an investigation. Many of the domain seemed to be registered back in June of last year and are coming up for renewal, and its uncertain whether the domains would have just dropped in a  few days. By tomorrow all of these domains should have the familiar this domain has been seized sticker on the sites. Today all of the domains do not resolve. None of these domains seem related to the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
10 Simple Tips to Protect Your Domain Names from Bogus Legal Threats (Part 2) - 5 more tips to protect your domain names. [In the first part of this article, Bill Sweetman gave five tips for protecting your domain names from bogus legal threats. Here are five more. 6. Insist that all complaints be put in writing This is really a follow-on to point #5 from my first post. If someone has a beef about one of your domain names, make them put it in writing. You’d be amazed at how many bogus complaints simply disappear forever when you do this. The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
7 reasons we should repel your .brand application - If you’re rethinking your .brand top level domain strategy, here are some things to think about. A relatively small number of .brand new TLD applicants have abandoned the process so far. Some of them are big, such as GM, which withdrew all of its applications. Others have only dropped one or two of their applications. As a .brand applicant yourself, you may be reconsidering your new TLD plans. If you withdraw your application before it passes initial evaluation, ... read more ...
Thu 6th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
10 Simple Tips to Protect Your Domain Names from Bogus Legal Threats - Limit the chances of receiving bogus legal threats with these helpful tips. [Editor’s note: Bill Sweetman participated in a legal panel about domain names at TRAFFIC Las Vegas. He gave ten tips to help domain owners protect their domains from bogus legal threats. I asked him if he would turn his talk into an article for Domain Name Wire. I’ve split the tips into two separate posts.] In a perfect world everyone is knowledgeable, honest, and has the best of intentions ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Heads up, .GMBH applicants: this heading focus is slipping by a cracks - .GMBH applicant’s trademark application approved for publishing. I’ve written numerous times about companies trying to trademark top level domain name strings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Although the USPTO won’t grant trademarks on top level domains, some applicants have been able to sneak their applications through at least part of the process. One is getting rather far. TLDDOT GmbH, an applicant for the .gmbh top level domain names, has managed ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Board manners on non-safeguard GAC advice - Resolution doesn’t resolve much; uncertainty remains. The ICANN Board New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) has approved a resolution ruling on a number of items of advice from the Governmental Advisory Committee with regards to new top level domain names. The resolution is specifically limited to non-safeguard advice. You can see how it ruled on each item here (pdf). For the most part, the decisions are limited to “we’ll consider the advice”. For example, some ... read more ...